Get a Clue!
by Tanooki Daisy
Summary: Nintendo style! What happens when six guests, renamed by color by their eccentric rich host, have to prove each other guilty (and themselves innocent) of murder? Chaos and hilarilty ensue! Updated Wednesdays and odd weekends :)
1. Meet the Guests

**Get a Clue**

Nintendo style! XD At school we had a hall decorating competition, the theme being 'board games'. The Juniors did Clue, which for some reason gave me the idea for this fic. Some of the character traits are based on the movie, some are from the books, and some I just made up. If you've never seen the movie or read any of the short stories, then what I just said won't matter in the slightest. And you ought to go rent to movie, because it's funny - Also you should know that in this fic none of the characters know each other, nor are they related in any way, even if in the games they are. And so, without further ado, here's another story from the pathetically videogame-obsessed mind of me: Get a Clue!

* * *

Chapter One: Meet the Guests

It was a dark and stormy night. Lightning tore across the sky in sudden vivid bolts, illuminating the gloomy world for a few brief seconds before darkness returned with a sound of thunder. Rain poured steadily down from the swirling smoke-grey mass of clouds above in sheets, drenching a lone figure who was running from a green car to the shelter of the porch of a huge mansion which stood on a hill at the end of an old road.

Waiting on the stoop a round grey boo floated, adjusting his monacle slightly as he watched the wet man approach. The person emerging from the darkness was dressed for the most part in green; his shirt and cap were the color of summer grass- or they usually were, though they looked darker now because they were wet. He wore white gloves and denim overalls as well, and the outfit was completed by a pair of blain brown shoes.

"Welcome, sir," the old-looking ghost said as the young man stepped onto the porch. "Forgive me for asking, but shouldn't you have brought an umbrella?"

"Well, I didn't know it was going to rain," he replied, pushing a loose strand of wet brown hair out of his bright blue eyes and looking around nervously. "Is- is this the right place?"

"Well, that really depends on where you were going, sir," the boo said with a hint of amusement. "But assuming that you recieved an invitation from a "Mister Boddy", then you've come to the right creepy mansion. Please, follow me," he said, turning and foating through the front door. A moment later the door opened from the inside, allowing the dripping guest to enter.

"My name is Bootler, by the way," the boo continued. "And in case you couldn't figure it out by my name, I am the butler."

"I'm Luigi," Luigi replied, looking around the entrance hall. "But my invitation said 'Mister Green'. I _am_ the right person, right?"

"Yes. You see, my employer, Mr. Boddy, is very... eccentric. All six guests are refered to by color. Everything will be explained once the others arrive. Until then, though, perhaps you would be more comfotable in the lounge?"

Luigi nodded and allowed himself to be led along the long foyer and through a door leading out to the right. Inside was a cozy room full of armchairs and sofas. Coffee had been set out on a tray on a low coffee table, and a crackling fire was burning in the fireplace.

"Make yourself comfortable," Bootler said, beckoning Luigi- or "Mr. Green"- in with a wave of one short arm. "If you need anything I will be waiting on the porch for the other guests, or you can ring this bell to call up the cook, who incidentally also is the maid. As technically she is to be one of the guests as well, you will call her Mrs. White, though her real name is Tayce T."

"Thank you," Luigi said, seating himself in an armchair near the fire. Bootler bowed (he would have only dipped his head normally, but as he was a boo this was hard to do without the rest of the body following) and floated back through the door. The young man took off his cap for a moment and wrung it out before placing it carefully back on his head and staring into the fire, wondering what was going on and why he'd been summoned.

Bootler watched as a red sports car parked alongside Luigi's older green one. The driver's side door opened and a shiny red umbrella popped out and was opened. It was followed by a young woman in a red dress, wearing red high-heels and white gloves that went up past her elbows. Slamming her car door and holding the umbrella over her head she walked up the the large house, the heels of her shoes clicking against the concrete.

"Welcome, Madame," Bootler said in his usual dreary voice as she climbed the steps to the porch, putting down her umbrella and shaking it out. "This is, as I am sure you are aware, the home of Mr. Boddy, who has called you here via invitation. My name is Bootler, the butler."

The lady raised an eyebrow at the ghost and held up the invitation. "My name's Pauline, and I'd like to know why it doesn't say that on this invite," she said. She spoke in a Brooklyn accent.

Bootler nodded. "Yes, I know. I'm guessing that your's is addressed to Ms. Scarlett, correct? Don't fret, everything will be explained as soon as everyone else arrives. Please, would you care to join the first guest, Mr. Green, in the lounge?"

"I'm guessing that's not _his_ real name, either," she remarked, but agreed to follow the ghost inside. He brought her into the inviting little room and introduced her to Luigi, who was still for the most part rather wet.

"Nice t'meet ya," she said, looking him up and down. "Didn't bring an umbrella?" she said at the sight of his still damp clothing.

"No," he admitted sheepishly.

"So what do you expect all this is about?"

He shrugged. "Search me. I'm clueless."

She pushed her long brown hair back over her shoulder and sighed. "Well, Mr. Green, looks like we'll have to wait for the creepy butler to spill the beans."

Just then there was a ring at the doorbell. Bootler invited Pauline to make herself comfortable as well, assured her once again that everything would be explained in time, and left to answer the door.

The heavy front door swung open to reveal not one, but _two_ new guests; a koopa with a tan shell wearing a pith helmet, and another young woman wearing a long blue gown and a ponytail with blue feathers sticking out of it. They each held dripping umbrellas, which matched their outfits.

"Oh, I wasn't aware that you would know each other," Bootler said, sounding surprised.

The blonde girl shook her head. "We don't," she said, pointing behind her at a yellow jeep and a blue convertable, which were parked side by side in the driveway. "We just showed up at the same time."

"Yes, quite," the koopa agreed, twirling his neat lack moustache. "Never seen this young lady before in m'life, aside from now. We were just getting through introductions, old chap. Looks like we'll have to start them over, wot? My name's Kolorado, and this is-"

"Miss Peacock," Bootler interrupted. "And you are Colonel Mustard from now on, sir. It may seem silly, but Mr. Boddy wishes it, and I think that, given the circumstances, it may be to your advantage to go along with his rather eccentric desires. More will be explained once the final guest arrives. Until then would you please follow me?"

They stepped inside and followed him into the lounge, where they were introduced to Luigi and Pauline, called by their color-coded names.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Miss Peacock said pleasantly, shaking each of their hands in turn. She made a face at the cold wet feel of Luigi's glove. "Geez, don't you have a pumbersaul? You're all damp," she stated, putting her own blue umbrella aside.

"Yeah, I know," he mumbled.

"Wonderful night for a mysterious meeting, wouldn't you say?" Kolorado said, picking up a cup of coffee and sipping it. "What's with the silly color business, though? Seems a bit odd, doesn't it?"

Pauline nodded. She was sitting on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other and a cup of steaming cappuccino in her hands. "It is silly, ain't it? Really, what kind of nut is this Boddy guy anyways?" Then, as an afterthought and more to herself than anyone else, she added, "I wonder what he looks like?"

"You will find out soon enough, Madame. He will make his appearance shortly," Bootler said. "Until then I will be waiting for the final guest to arrive."

A small old junker trundled up the private drive, rust showing through chipped purple paint. It finally pulled up next to the other cars and parked, emitting grey exhaust that almost looked purple in the gloom. An old man peered through the rain-spattered windsheild to look up at the forboding mansion as lightning streaked across the sky behind it. He grinned. This place was right up his alley.

He opened the door, but instead of putting up an umbrella he tossed out a small round object, which landed on the concrete with a clatter. Pulling a remote control out of his pocket, he pointed it at the object and pushed the button. Immedeately he little round box shook and opened, and out sprang an umbrella, which opened itself in midair.

He quickly stepped out and grabbed its handle before it landed, shutting the car door behind him. "Success!" he chuckled to himself, making his way up to the mansion.

"Welcome to Mr. Boddy's mansion," Bootler said boredly. "You must be Professor Plum."

"Actually," the short man said, adjusting his enormous round spectacles, "It's Professor E. Gadd." His dark purple shirt was just visible under the long white lab coat he wore over his other clothes. The coat was so long it hung past his ankles, just barely stopping short of the soles of his large brown shoes.

"Actually, it's Prof. Plum," Bootler said, grinning. "That's what your invitation said, am I right?"

"Well, sure, sonny, but that's not my name!"

"Well, it is now. Come inside and I'll explain everything."

After introductions had been made, and the Prof. had commented on what a shame it was that Mr. Green hadn't been equipped with his latest invention for sheilding against precipitation, Bootler picked up the silver bell he had pointed out to Luigi earlier, and rang it.

A moment later an old mushroom woman entered, wearing a black-and-white maid's uniform. She curtsied politely. "You rang?"

"Yes, Mrs. White. All of the other guests are here, and you were the only one missing. Mr. Boddy should be ariving any minute."

The aged mushroomian smiled around at the odd-looking assembly. "My, it is nice to meet you all! I've been wondering what all this is about. Mr. Boddy's been arranging this for weeks- months even. Why, you look like you fell in a swimming pool, hon! Didn't you realize it was raining?" she added, spotting Luigi. He made a face but didn't answer.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," a voice said suddenly, startling them all. The all turned around to face a figure hidden in the shadows of one corner of the room. "Welcome to my home. I'm so glad you all could make it."

* * *

Bwaha XD I drew a blank on Miss Peacock, so I'm just making her up :) As for the rest, what do you think? Did I pick good people? Who do you think Mr. Boddy will be, hmmm? And, for those of you who've seen Clue the Movie... isn't Mr. Green just like Luigi? I mean, it's kinda uncanny how similar their personalities are, wouldn't you say? Not to mention the conveniant color match XD Just a thought. Anyways please read and review, tell me what you think, it really makes my day :) 


	2. The Proposition

Yay second chapter! This fic is really fun to write, I hope you like reading it as much as I like making it up :) In the upcoming chapter, the main chunk of the plot will unfold, and you'll find out who Mr. Boddy is. I'm not putting his real name in this fic because if you can't tell who he is by the description then you shouldn't be reading this story.

I forgot to say it last chapter, so here's my disclaimer now: In case you're so stupid to think that I am Mr. Miyamoto or somebody important like that, let me tell you now that I'm not. Therefore I own nothing.

* * *

Chapter Two: The Proposition

"You must be Mr. Boddy," Miss Peacock said, sounding bemused.

The man stepped out of the shadows and bowed. "The same," he said, smiling. "It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Miss Peacock. And the rest of you, too, of course. I was afraid that, in light of the storm, some of you may not make it." The man wore an impeccable black suit, with a red bow tie and white gloves. His black shoes were highly polished, and he looked very fine indeed- except that there was one thing in his outfit that looked like it shouldn't belong there. On his head, covering most of his wavy brown hair, was a bright red cap. On the front was a white patch, with a red letter "M" stitched in the middle.

Noticing this, Kolorado leaned over and whispered to Pauline, "I say, Ms. Scarlett, what do you suppose the "M" is for?"

She shrugged. "Maybe it stands for 'Mister'," she whispered back.

Not seeming to hear them, the somewhat short man continued. "I suppose that you all are wondering why I've called you here. Well, it's really rather a long story, but to keep it short, I'll just say this; I am very wealthy, and I've written all six of you in my will."

There followed a long silence as the guests soaked in what he'd just said. They were all in his will? Why? They didn't even know the man, let alone deserve a share of his fortune... His very large fortune, it looked like...

Finally Gadd spoke for everyone. "Now hold up there, young feller; did you say we're all in your will? Why would you put a bunch of strangers in your will, instead of family or somethin?"

Mr. Boddy shrugged. "I don't have any family left, and though none of you've met me, I know all about you-enough to have deemed you worthy of an equal portion of my great wealth. When I die, all of my valuables, cash included, will be distributed evenly between you six." He paused, and an odd gleam came to his sparkling blue eyes as he looked from face to expectant face. After a moment he continued. "Now, that will come to quite a lot, but imagine if it was only spread between five, maybe four or three, even. What if it was split evenly between only two of you, or possibly even ifall of the wealth was inhereted by just one?"

He was pleased to see that they were all listening intently now. "Obviously, a share of my loot will only go to surviving inheriters. The fewer of those that there are, the more money will go to the people still living."

Luigi didn't like where this was going. "So... what are you getting at?" he asked tenatively.

Their host gave an odd grin that gave him the creeps, but said nothing. Instead he turned towards Bootler and nodded slightly, and the ghost obediantly turned and floated away. A moment later he returned, carrying in his small arms a large stack of black boxes, tied with black ribbons.

Taking the boxes, Mr. Boddy said "What I'm getting at, Mr. Green, is an opportunity for some of you to become very, very rich indeed. Here," he said, pulling out a long narrow box with a neat green bow on top and handing it to Luigi. "A gift for you. There's one for each of you. Come get them but please wait to open them."

They each took their presents and looked them over curiously. A few of them were very heavy, but one or two were rather light. They were all different sizes. The guests sat back down where they had been and stared at Mr. Boddy, urging him to continue.

"Open them," he said, and they did. A few seemed hesitant, but most of them tore in immedeately, as though expecting all that wealth to be packed in the little box.When they did get them opened, though, they slowed.

Kolorado was the first one to tear open his box and pull out what was inside; a heavy brass candlestick. For a moment he looked excited, but upon seeing that it was just brass and not of much value, his face fell.

Pauline reached into her box and was surprised to find a revolver, old but apparently in working condition. She gripped the handle and stared at the weapon with wonder.

Tayce T. found a knife, which may have pleased her except that it wasn't a cooking knife; it was more like a hunting knife or a dagger. She ran her thumb up the blade experimentally.

The professor opened his box and produced a wrench. He made a face; he had dozens of wrenches. Why would he want another...?

Luigi, seeing that none of the other guests had been blown up or poisoned from opening their boxes, removed the top from his own and looked inside. He rolled his eyes as he pulled out a long peice of lead pipe. This guy knows more about me than I thought, he mused.

Miss Peacock had the lightest box. She opened it and found a long peice of rope, and when she pulled it out she was alarmed to find that it was tied in a noose. She put her hand on the knot and slid it up and down the rope medetatively, watching the loop tighten and grow again.

"I say, old chap, what's the big idea, eh?" Kolorado said, holding up his candlestick. "If you're going to give away worthless junk you ought to at least include the candle."

Mr. Boddy chuckled. "Look around, Colonel Mustard. I have given each of you a lethal weapon. My mansion is too far from civilization for anyone to ever find out what happens here tonight- too far even for anyone to hear the sound of a gunshot," he said. Miss Scarlette dropped the revolver like it had turned into a rattle snake. "Tonight, my friends, you will be given a chance to live on easy street. There's nothing to it, I assure you," he said, grinning maliciously.

Mrs. White looked at him, horrified. "Mr. Boddy, sir! You don't really mean for us to kill each other off, do you?"

"Why not? It's not like you know each other. There's no emotional bonds between any of you."

"You can't just dole out weapons and say 'go at it'!" Miss Peacock exclaimed.

"I can do anything I like, Peacock. I'm eccentric," he replied with an amused smile. "Anyway the choice is ultamately up to you, I suppose, but keep this in mind as well; just because you don't want to take advantage of this proposal doesn't mean somebody else won't, either. If you don't watch your back, you may end up with a knife in it."

Mrs. White looked at her knife distastefully, her wrinkly pick face taking on a somewhat greenish tint.

"This is crazy!" Luigi said, his voice a note higher than usual. "I'm out of here! You can keep your money!" He stood and made for the door, but Mr. Boddy blocked the exit.

"You can't leave, Mr. Green. All of the outside doors are locked, and Bootler is the sole posessor of the key. And don't bother asking him, either. He's been instructed not to give it to anybody," he added as Luigi turned to look pleadingly at the boo, who turned away.

Professor Gadd shook his head. "What nonsense. You've got a few loose screws, I think, Mr. Boddy. If I could I'd tighten 'em up for you," he said, waving the wrench.

"Prof. Plum, I'm truly sorry you feel that way. I'm sorry any of you feel that way, if any of you honestly do. Either way I'm going to shut off the lights now. Then you can do what you will," their host said, stepping towards the light switch. "Are you ready? One... two..." he reached up and flipped down the switches, and the room was thrown into darkness.

* * *

Okay, so that's my second chapter. Bwaha, our beloved hero has become a psychotic eccentric filthy rich maniac XD Isn't it _fun_? RR; tell me what you think! 


	3. Murder!

This is the chapter where the action starts. From here on out I'm not sure what'll happen exactly; I'm winging it - I have no idea who the killer is yet, either, so don't ask. I can only hope that this doesn't turn out too much like the movie. I want the plot to be original, you know? Anyway please RR and all that.

Thank you, all my kind reviewers! I'm so glad my story is liked. There are a few things I'd like to clear up though that it seems I should've made more obvious but did't -P I'm bad at that. Anyway, for one thing, Miss Peacock is not Peach, and Ms. Scarlette is not Daisy. Give me some credit; don't you think I know what I'm writing about? Sheesh! XD And also, I know that it might've sounded better to have Peach and Daisy in it, it seems like at least Peach should've been an obvious choice for one of the charactersbut I was kinda trying to stick to people that actually /wore/ those colors. Peach never wears blue that we see in the games,and Daisy doesn't wear red.Tayce T. was the only major exception, but I couldn't think of anyone who wore all white, and since she was the cook she was the closest I could get to maid -) Anyway once again, thank you all for the good reviews, and Anonymous Flamer, thanks so much for the constructive criticizm. I'll keep your helpful tips is mind, and please continue with your insightful comments ;-)

I own nuthin.

* * *

Chapter Three: Murder!

After the lights were turned out, several things happened at once, starting with a loud

BANG!

Several voices screamed at once, and everybody panicked. The situation was made worse by the fact that nobody could see anything, and kept tripping over things and running into each other. Miss Peacock kept shouting that someone was strangling her, and Kolorado's voice could be heard as a muffled shout. In short, chaos reigned.

"SOMEBODY GET THE LIGHTS!" someone shouted at last. "Mr. Boddy, this has gone far enough!"

There was no reply from the host. A few more seconds of confusion went on before the lights came back on, Bootler being the one to hit the switch, and they could finally see what was going on.

Miss Peacock had somehow gotten herself tangled in her own rope, and was struggling madly to get it off of her. Pauline had tripped over something and fallen on top of Kolorado, who was shouting into the carpet as his arms and legs flailed. Luigi was cowering in one corner, where he'd gone as soon as the lights went out. Prof. Gadd's glasses had been knocked off his face, and he was down on hands and knees groping for them with his fingers. Tayce T. stood as pale as a ghost, her mouth slightly open as she stared with horror at what the others hadn't yet noticed. The knife was on the floor, where she'd dropped it.

"Oh my..." she finally managed to say, her hand going to her mouth.

Pauline struggled to her feet, allowing Kolorado to do the same. "What is it?" she asked, seeing the look on the maid's face. She followed her gaze to the figure of a man sprawled out on the floor, and screamed in alarm. "Somebody murdered Mr. Boddy!" she cried, bringing everyone to their feet as they rushed over to see.

Mr. Boddy lay face-down on the floor, unmoving. His out-of-place red hat was off, and now lay a foot or two away. At a spot near the man's temple his hair looked dark and matted together, and glistened wetly. Luigi, who was the last to join the group and see what'd happened, whimpered aloud at the gruesome sight. Not gory, but enough to make everyone present's stomachs flip.

"Is he... dead?" Miss Peacock whispered tenatively. "I mean, he might have survived, it is possible."

There followed an uncomfortable silence. No one wanted to check. Finally Kolorado said "Well, Plum old chap, I'd say that you're the most qualified to check for signs of life, wouldn't you?"

Gadd, who had found his glasses and put them back on, looked taken aback. "What, me? I'm a professor, not a doctor!" he said indignantly.

"Well, someone ought to do it. He may _need_ a doctor soon," Tayce T. said nervously.

Pauline sighed. "Oh, for crying out loud. I'll do it," she said, walking to the limp form and crouching beside him. She hesitated for a moment, then she placed two fingers on his throat. After a few seconds she pulled away, standing quickly and stepping back. "Oh, yeah, he's dead all right," she said, looking ill.

"Do you know what this means?" Peacock said, her voice lowered. "It means that one of us is a murderer."

Luigi whimpered again and took a hasty step back from the rest of the group. "B-but who? And, why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Bootler said. Everyone jumped, startled. He hadn't spoken in a while and they had forgotton about him. "Whoever did this was after the fortune. Obviously, when Mr. Boddy died his will would be put into action."

"Well, if you know so much about the murderer's motives, how do we know you didn't do it?" Tayce T. said, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Bootler scowled at her. "Because I'm not in his will at all," he snapped back. "He left me out so he could have his twisted game with the six of you. Because I'm already dead I couldn't join in on us killing each other off; it wouldn't be fair. So I'd have no reason to want to murder him."

"We're still in danger," Kolorado said nervously. They turned to face him, surprised and curious at what he had to say. "Remember what Mr. Boddy said, about us getting more if there were less of us to split it between? Whoever did this is going to want to be the only one getting anything. We're still in danger."

"I knew I should have stayed home!" Luigi moaned.

"Bootler, let us leave before someone else dies, too. Give us the key," Gadd said.

The boo shook his head sadly. "I can't do that. Listen, I knew what Mr. Boddy was going to do and was appalled, so I... I called the police."

"You what!" several voices shouted in unison.

"They're to arrive at midnight," he continued. "Before then we have to discover who the murderer is, or we'll all end up in jail- yes, even me. They might assume there was another motive for me to have killed him. So we've got-" he glanced at the clock on the mantle. "Six hours to solve this mystery on our own."

"That doesn't give us much time," Pauline said.

"Well, if I may, I'd like to accuse you of this murder, Ms. Scarlette," Kolorado said, twirling his moustache again. "After all, it was you who had the revolver."

"I put that gun down," she shot back imediately. "Anyone else could have grabbed it- and _you_, Col. Mustard, were the closest one to it besides me. How do we know it wasn't you?"

Tayce T. spoke before Kolorado could protest. "Where is that gun, anyway? In fact, where are any of the weapons? They should be accounted for before we do anything else."

There was some general murmured agreement, and everybody started searching for their dropped weapons. The candlestick was on the sofa, where Kolorado had left it after branding it worthless. The rope was in Miss Peacock's hands of course, because she had only just disentangled herself from it. The knife was still on the floor where Tayce T. had dropped it. The pipe was found near the armchair, the wrench was under the coffee table, and finally the revolver was located, laying decievingly innocent on the floor beside a bookshelf.

They placed all the objects in a pile on the table and then looked around from face to face. "So... hudunnit?" somebody said finally.

"Well, let's look at the facts," the professor said, straightening his glasses. "We know that the man was shot in the head with the revolver, and we also know that everyone had easy access to the said weapon when the lights went out. The gun was discovered near this bookshelf," he said, walking over to it. "Which is only a yard or two away from where Mr. Boddy's body was found. Of course, that doesn't help us much, either, since there was plenty of time between the gunshot and the lights coming back on for the perpetrator to flee."

They looked at him in silence for a moment as they digested what he'd said. "So," Miss Peacock said after a moment. "What you're saying is that at a glance we have no way of narrowing this down at all, and you just spent the last five minutes going over the facts for... nothing?"

The short old man rejoined the group ad cleared his throat. "Well, yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Professor Plum, wasn't it you who said that you'd like to tighten Mr. Boddy's loose screws?" Tayce T. said suddenly. The other guests turned to stare at him, waiting for his answer.

He looked taken aback. "Well, sure, missy, but I didn't mean I wanted to kill him! You yourself were shocked and dismayed at his ghstly proposition, as was I. I only meant that if I could, I'd invent something to make insane people... you know, sane."

"Look at this!" a voice cried suddenly, making them all jump again. It was Bootler again, and he was floating beside the wall next to the light switch.

"What is it?" Ms. Scarlette asked as they all turned to get a look.

"A bullet hole!" he exclaimed, floating out of the way so they could see. Indeed there was a bullet hole there; it had broken through he paneling and buried itself deep in the plaster. "It looks like Mr. Boddy wasn't shot after all!"

* * *

Dun dun DUUUN! XD Yeah. I lied; as I was writing this chapter I started getting an idea of who the killer is and how they dunnit, so yeah I do have a bit of an idea. But I'm still not spilling the beans ;-) 


	4. An Unexpected Guest

Hmm... dunno what to say at the moment, except for thanks as always for the nice reviews, guys : ) I'm glad this story isn't dumb or lame or anything like that, you know. Anyway this chapter was very fun, even though it's so short it's one of the longest chapters yet. I could have probably gone on with it but I wanted to leave off where I did because... I did. It was a good place to end, I thought. So please enjoy my story!

* * *

**Chapter Four: An Unexpected Guest**

They stared for a moment in silence, and then six voices started at once, fingers pointing as they accused each other of the crime.

"It was Col. Mustard, I know it! He bashed Mr. Body in the head with the candlestick!"

"Nonsense! I'd say it was Prof. Plum with the wrench! Then he took off his glasses and used looking for them as a cover-up!"

"I wouldn't do that, sonny! Someone might have stepped on my specs, and those are the only pair I've got! It must've been Mr. Green with that big ol' hunk of piping!"

"M-me? I d-didn't do it! When the lights went out I... er, thought I'd stay out of the way in that corner."

"No, I saw him; he was cowering over there. Scared out of his wits I'd say; it wasn't him. Y'know it could've been Mrs.White; she could easily have hit him with the handle of her knife."

"Oh, good gracious no! Mr. Boddy may have been a psychopathic maniac fascinated with people killing eachother, but he was a good employer and I wouldn't want to kill him. In my opinion, the most likely suspect would be-"

"SHUT UP FOR A MOMENT!" Bootler shouted over the din. Everyone stopped babbling and turned to face him once more. He cleared his throat and continued calmly. "We'll never get anywhere arguing in this manner. We need to do this scientifically."

"Now you're talkin', sonny!" Prof. Gadd said enthusiastically.

"So we'll have to look for evidence as to who did this and with what weapon. Then w-" He was cut off by the sudden sound of a loud mournful sounding bell, which tolled loudly in the foyer. Luigi jumped, and everyone froze. There was a pause, then it sounded again, and was accentuated by a dazzling flash of lightening through the window and a loud thunderclap.

"The doorbell," Tayce T. said gravely.

"But it's not midnight yet!" Ms. Peacock said in alarm, glancing first at the watch on her right wrist, then at the one on her left, and then for good measure checking the one over the mantle.

"Well it can't be the cops then," Pauline said nervously. "Can it?"

"Only one way to find out, don't you know," Kolorado said decisively. He pushed past Pauline and Gadd, skirted around Mr. Boddy's feet, and opened the lounge door. "Come on, Bootler; you're the one with the keys, am I right?"

"Well, yes... I suppose if we make sure through the window first that it's not the police, then it should be all right..."

So they all filed out through the open door into the foyer and walked cautiously towards the front door, treating it like a dangerous animal that need to be tranqued. Finally they drew near enough to carefully peer through the small square window in the top of the door, and saw... nothing.

Luigi, who was closest the door and stood staring out into the gloom, said without turning "There's no one there!"

Just then there came a loud knock at the door, making everyone jump and causing Luigi to stumble, lose his balance, and fall backwards into everyone else, making them all tumble over eachother in a confused heap.

The knock came again; a sharp, persistant rapping on the heavy wooden door, accompanied by a voice, which called "Hello? HELLO! Anybody home? My car broke down so I followed this road to here! Can I come in? It's really wet out here! Hello? I know someone's in there! It's really mean to make me stand out here freezing you know!" The voice was a male's, but was rather high-pitched.

Everyone got off of each other and stood up, dusted themselves off, and turned to look at Luigi with eyebrows arched. He spread out his hands and said "There wasn't anyone there when I looked!"

"Oh, here, let me see! I bet I know..." Ms. Peacock said, stepping up the the window and peering down. She founde herself staring a round white thing with red spots and arms- a top view of a mushroom person, of course. "Look, it's just a mushroom guy! He's so short you looked right over his head," she explained.

"Well," Bootler said, floating forward and producing a large silver key. "I suppose we ought to let him in."

"Are you crazy?" Luigi said incredulously. "There's a- a-" he couldn't bring himself to say 'dead body', so instead he motioned back towards the lounge. "In there! Don't you think that whoever it is will notice?"

"Of course not," Bootler said matter-of-factly, sticking the key in the lock and turning it. "He'll be more comfortable in the library, I think. Ah, welcome, sir! Sorry to have kept you waiting," he said as the door swung open to reveal the little man who was standing there.

He wore white shorts and a blue vest with gold-colored trim, and large brown shoes. He stood with an annoyed look on his rounded face, his arms crossed over his bare chest as he dripped on the stoop. "It's about time," he said irritably. "I was starting to think no one was home. So, may I come in, please? I need to use the phone."

Three voices said 'yes' as three more said 'no', and the guests and the butler looked around at each other in surprise. "Um... please, excuse us for a minute," Bootler said, and before the little an could protest he had shut the door again and turned the bolt. "Well? Which is it? I don't see why we shouldn't let him in if we don't let on about... you know."

"We can't let the young feller in! Supposing he leaves the library and walks in on... us in the lounge?" Gadd said.

"Oh, the poor thing's sopping wet. We can't leave him out in that storm; it's just immoral," Miss Peacock said, gesturing out the window at the steadily worsening thunderstorm.

Luigi shook his head. "Don't you think it's worse in here? I mean, there's a killer on the loose in the mansion! If it was me I'd rather be in the rain."

"I agree with Mr. Green," Kolorado said, shaking his head. "He and the Prof. have very good points; supposing he finds us and the cadaver, and phones the police, wot? Or he could become the next murder victim. Leave him out, I say."

"Oh my goodness, you two are rediculous! The idea of leaving him out there in the cold; why it's preposterous! We should bring him in where it's warm, and then somehow keep him in the library. Oh, I know! We could just lock him in," Mrs. White said.

"Won't he get suspicious if we lock him in a room?" Kolorado countered. "Then he would call the police."

"Actually, he couldn't," Bootler interjected. "There's no telephone in the library."

"Brilliant!" Peacock said. "The library it is, then. Come now, open the door and let him in."

Bootler unbolted the door and pulled it open on a very disgrundled mushroomian. "Our humblest apologies, sir. We are having a party and had to discuss where you'd be most comfortable while at the same time not interfere with our get-together. We decided you should be all right in the library."

"Swell," he replied sourly shivering slightly as he stepped inside. Mrs. White made a face at the muddy water that puddled where he walked, forming a dirty wet trail. His shoes squeaked on the marble floor, as well as squishing from being wet, breaking the quiet of the foyer while he was led from the front door to the library.

"Here we are, sir," Bootler said, opening the library door. Around the doorjamb they could see shelves and shelves of books lining the walls, as well as large comfortable looking chairs and a desk with a light.

The mushroom man stepped in, looked around, and then turned back with a look of annoyance on his face. "Look, this really isn't funny. I need to use a pho-" he stopped when he had turned far enough to see that the door behind him was shut. "Um... hello?" he said timidly, taking a step towards the door as lightening flashed through the window behind him. "Hellooo?" He reached out and grabbed the handle, trying to turn it. It wouldn't budge.

"Hey!" The guests listened as their unexpected guest rattled the doorknob, pulling on the door and uttering a steady steam of mixed explatives. Bootler motioned for silence as they crept away from the door, the butler ghost tucking his Master Key safely away. "Dammit, let me out!" They heard the oddly high voice behind them shout, along with a loud thump which suggested he'd kicked the door.

"Well, now that that's taken care of we can see about this murder buisiness," Kolorado said in a soft voice.

"Yay," Luigi said with a sigh.

"We have under five hours left," Bootler said, indicating a clock above the doorway reading 7:45.

"I'm certain that will be enough time to gather the evidence," Gadd said, adjusting his specs. "But will we have time to analyze it?"

"Well, we'll have to try, anyway," Pauline said. She was closest the the door to the lounge, and stepped over to it now and turned the knob. They all piled in after her and looked around, when they realised that something was missing...

"Mr. Boddy's body is missing!" the young brunette cried, pointing at the floor where he had lain moments ago. Everyone peered around her and saw that it was true; the corpse, it seemed, had left the scene of the crime. THUMP! Alarmed, they all turned and looked around in surprise. Luigi had fainted.

* * *

Bwaha X3 I always like to write Toad as friendly and cheerful but really kinda psycho when he's ticked off, with the cussing and the kicking the door and all that : ) Hey, you'd freak out too if you were left standing out in a storm, and then when you were finally let in they locked you up XD Heh. I really wanted someone to faint in this story. Luigi seemed like a good choice, given his personality and the circumstances : ) Well, those are all the ANs for this chapter I guess, so with that being said, now that you've read it please review, m'kay? M'kay. 


	5. Splitting the Deck

Hello again! I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to my reviewers (again). You guys rock XD Okay, let's see if I can make this chapter any longer... I fear my entire story, and not just the chapters, is going to end up notoriously short if I don't try to lengthen it more XP So here's hoping for another good chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Five: Splitting the Deck**

Ignoring the unconcious Mr. Green for the time being, they all turned back to stare blankly at the spot where Mr. Boddy had lain.

"So... he wasn't dead, then?" Tayce T. said presently, a puzzled expression on her face.

"I hope not," Miss. Peacock mumured. "Ms. Scarlette, didn't you check for his pulse?" Everyone turned expectantly towards Pauline, who shook her head in a bemused fashion.

"Yes, I did, but I swear he was dead!" she said.

"Oh, good!" Gadd excalimed. "This must mean he's become a ghost, and he's walking around dead and alive right now! I'll bet he wants revenge on his murderer! This is fantastic!"

Kolorado looked at him like he was insane. "Fantastic that there's a vengeful ghost on the loose? I hardly thought that was a good thing. Supposing our late host doesn't know you got him either? He might be after all of us!"

Bootler shook his head. "Now, you all are forgetting that I myself am a ghost. And speaking from a ghost's point of view, I doubt that if he had become one he would have stayed. Once you die you don't really care about revenge. On the other hand, though, Mr. Boddy was always sadistic... he may become a poltergiest just for the fun of it."

By now Luigi had begun to come 'round again. He moaned and sat up, rubbing his head and looking around. "What happened?" he asked dazedly.

Pauline looked down at him. "You fainted when you saw Mr. Boddy was missing," she explained cooly, a small grin appearing on her crimson lips. "In fact, we were just discussing the possibilities of him coming back as a poltergiest and haunting and/or killing us all."

Luigi's face paled, and he fainted again, hitting the carpet with a dull thud. Miss Peacock frowned slightly. "That wasn't very nice, Ms. Scarlette," she said, putting her hands on her hips.

The brunette shrugged. "Geez, I was only funning.So the guy's a wuss; not my problem."

"Yes, but we'll need his help in the search of clues as to how and why Mr. Boddy's body has vanished," Gadd said pointedly. "Now that I get a second thought about it I somehow doubt that this is supernatural. Besides, if he'd become a ghost, his body would most likely still be there," he said.

"That could mean two things," Kolorado pointed out, holding up two short yellow fingers and counting off on them. "One, he wasn't dead to begin with, only KOed. When he came about he realized his plan had gone awry and scurried off. Or two, he _was_ dead, and somebody dragged him off and stashed him someplace."

"Yes, but why would anyone want to hide the Boddy's body?" Tayce T. pondered. "We all already know he's dead, so what would be the point of hiding him?"

Bootler cleared his throat. "Well, that's what we need to find out. Now before we can figure out who killed Mr. Boddy, we'll have to find him. Mystery on top of mystery! It's going to be a long night," he murmered, half to himself. "Anyway, because we don't know where our ex-host went, we'll have to search every room in this house. We'll split up to save time."

"Hey, hold on a tick!" Kolorado said, frowning. "If we split up that means there's a murderer going free and unchecked."

"Well," Bootler explained, "We'll have to go in pairs, then. And we'll keep the weapons locked up just in case," he added, floating over to the coffee table and the pile of weapons. Picking up the revolver, the candlestick, and the rope, he said "We'll keep them in the safe, which is over here."

He drifted over to the safe, pulled out his master key and unlocked it, and stowed the weapons inside. He went back and picked up the lead pipe and the wrench, and then paused. "Wait," he said, his ashy brow furrowed. "Were's the knife?"

They all looked around until at last Prof. Gadd said "There it is!" He crossed the room to the sofa, where the knife was lying nearby on the floor. "Someone must've knocked it off the table by mistake."

"Yes, I suppose that's what could've happened..." Bootler said, taking the knife thoughtfully and bringing it to the safe, along with the other two weapons. He chucked them in, shut the safe door, turned the combination lock and locked it with his key as well. "There, that should be safe. Somebody bring Mr. Green to his senses, please. We're going to draw lots for pairs."

Miss Peacock knelt on the floor beside Luigi and poked him gently on the shoulder. "Hey, get up," she said. He didn't stir, so she poked him again. "Wakey wakey!"

"Oh, for cryin' out loud! That'll never do it! Here, let me," Ms. Scarlette said in exasperation. She stepped briskly up to the two, grabbing a cup of coffee off the table on her way. By now it had grown cold. "Wake up!" she shouted, and dumped the contents of the cup onto Luigi's face.

He sat bolt upright, sputtering and wiping his face. "What was that for!" he said in surprise as he rubbed coffee out of his eyes.

"To get you on your feet," she said. "Get up lazy; the clock's ticking and we've got to solve this stupid mystery before the pigs show."

"Oh, that was _so _mean!" Miss Peacock said, helping Luigi to his feet. "You didn't have to use coffee! There's a glass of water sitting right there that would've done the trick just fine. Now Mr. Green's going to smell like mocha all night."

"Actually, dear, it's cappuccino," Tayce T. said. "And now there's a big coffee stain on the carpet," she added in disapproval. "Do you know how hard they are to get out?"

"It doesn't matter now, missus! What counts at the moment is gettin' this mystery solved!" the professor said. "Even splitting up it'll take a while to cover this entire house, by the look of things. We need to get cracking."

"That's right," Bootler agreed. "There are nine rooms all together, not including hallways and staircases and closets and whatnot. The lounge and the library you've already been introduced to, but then there's also the study, the conservatory, the ballroom, the billiards room, the dining room, the kitchen, and the hall."

"But you said we weren't counting halls," Pauline said, an eyebrow raised.

"It's not a hallway," Tayce T. explained. "It's a room called 'The Hall'. Mr. Boddy's eccentric, remember?"

"You mean _was_ eccentric," Kolorado corrected.

"Oh, right..." she said softly, making a face.

"Well, time to draw lots," Bootler said. He floated over to the fireplace and took a bundle of long kitchen matches from a small vase atop the mantle. Returning to the group, he separated five of the long narrow matchsticks and placed them on the table for everyone to see. Then he picked up one and broke it in half, and laying it aside, went to the next and broke it into thirds. The last two he left long.

He gathered the peices and arranged them in one small white hand so that they all appeared the same length. "We all pick one," he explained. "Matching sticks go together. There'll be one group of three as well. Once we're all divided, we split up and search. We're looking for Mr. Boddy primarily, but be sure to keep a sharp eye out for clues. One group will want to search the lounge, which we all know is where the crime took place. Leave the library alone; we don't want to arouse suspicion in our 'guest'. All right, are we ready? Then draw lots."

Solumnly they all reached out and took a stick and then looked around, comparing theirs with each others'.

Professor Plum, Tayce T, and Bootler ended up in a group of three. Miss Peacock and Kolorado were another group, and Pauline and Luigi were the last. "Oh, great," they muttered in unison.

"All right," Bootler said, ignoring the last pairing's gripes. "Now that we have our groups we're going to split up. Like I said, search everywhere. Oh, perhaps I should mention the cellar," he added thoughtfully. "That ought to be looked into as well. Anyway let's go now."

They all went to the door and someone opened it, allowing the group to pile out into the foyer again. Through the closed library door they could still hear banging and rattling, as well as the stream of curses which had quieted to a steady muttering. Once in the foyer, which they agreed would be their meeting place once all the rooms were investigated, the groups decided on where to go first.

"Well, I suggest we search the crime scene first," the pofessor stated to the other members of his group.

Tayce T. nodded. "I was just about to say the same thing, Prof. Plum. The best place to start is the beginning, I always say."

"Hey, what's up there?" Miss Peacock said, pointing down the long broad corridor at a staircase.

"The upstairs portion of the mansion, I'd assume," Kolorado replied, twisting his small mustache. "Only one way to find out for sure, though, wouldn't you say?"

Luigi and Pauline looked at each other for a moment, then in unison declared "That way." Luigi was pointing to the left, Pauline was pointing to the right. They frowned.

"Bootler was right," Pauline sighed, crossing her slender arms over her chest. "This _is_ going to be a long night."

* * *

Yay it's longer! Whoot! Go me, Go me... .:coughs:. Um... yeah. You wouldn't believe how many times I changed the title, really. I thought that splitting the deck might be clever because in the board game you've got the suspect cards and whatnot XD Anyway I hope you like this chapter, there should be at least three or four, and hopefully more chapters where they're searching for clues and what happens, what they find, etc. By the way, I also know almost for sure who did it and how and why and all that junk. Anyway please review! Oh and one more thing; I know this will sound really foolish, but does anyone know where the secret passages are and what they connect to? I think I know but I'm not sure, and I tried looking it up but couldn't find it : P 


	6. Searchin' Fer Clues!

Yay Chapter Six! It's about !#ing time, huh? XD Sorry it took so long. I'm only at this computer once in a while (it's at my grandma's, and I don't have a floppy to save it and take it home with) and when I _was _on I had major writer's block. Thanks for letting me know where the secret passages are! That was helpful : ) I didn't use it in this chapter, actually, but it will become a major part later on. Okay, this chapter's been delayed long enough; I guess I'd better shut up and let you read it.

I own nuthin.

* * *

**Chapter Six- Part One: Plum, White, and Boo**

Professor E. Gadd, Tayce T. and the butler Bootler turned and re-opened the door to the lounge. There wasn't anything really out of the ordinary that they hadn't known about before, as far as they could see at a glance. There was still a wet brown spot near the door from where the coffee was spilt; the cup had been left on the floor beside it. Just above the light switch was a hole with cracks spreading from it like spider's webs, where someone had tried to shoot Mr. Boddy but missed. A small patch of the carpet was darker than the rest near where the body's head had been- presumably drops of blood.

The thing was, though, they'd already seen all of it. And just from standing and looking around, none of them were able to spot anything different. After a minute of scanning the familiar- but now less inviting- room, E. Gadd cleared his throat and said "Well, I suppose the best place to start is where the body was last seen. It was..." he trailed off as he crossed the room and stood next to where Boddy had lain. "Here," he finished, and crouched down to get a closer look.

The other two joined him, stooping low to carefully examine the spot. Tayce T. squinted at the blood on the carpet- it was the first thing she noticed,because she wanted to see if it really was blood and would stain. "Hmm..." she murmured, leaning closer.

"Have you found anything, Mrs. White?" Bootler said, looking up.

"Well," she replied without turning to face him, "I was just thinking about what the best cleaner is for getting out blood stains, but now that you mention it there_ is _something a bit strange. There's a spot here that's darkened, like it's dried a bit, but look here," she said, pointing to a spot a few inches from the first. "This bit is redder and wetter, and it's _smeared_."

Bootler and Gadd joined her and looked at the spots themselves. "Hmm, you're right," the ghost agreed. "But it doesn't necissarily mean anything. Someone might have stepped in the first spot here and tracked it."

Gadd shook his head. "Possibly, but it doesn't look like a footprint... Well, anyway I think it should be noted." He reached into an inside pocket of his lab coat and produced a small spiral notepad with a pen through the wire binding. He pulled out the pen and flipped the cover back, turning a few more pages before stopping. Popping the cap off the pen, he jotted down a few notes. "...other... spot... smeared," he muttered as he completed the notes. He tucked the pen and paper back into his pocket and grinned. "Well, that's one clue, anyway."

The other two nodded and they resumed looking. On a hunch, Bootler followed the direction that the blood smear had gone in, which took him to the bookshelf. "Well, that was no good... wait," he said suddenly. "Wasn't this where the gun was found?"

Tayce T. looked up from what she'd been looking at and shrugged. "Yes, but we already ruled out the revolver, remember?"

"Oh... yes..." he muttered, frowning slightly. "Well, so much for that being a clue. But still, it may mean something that that smear went this way," he added.

"I'll write it down, but I agree with Mrs. White; it probably isn't anything," Prof. Gadd said, taking out his notebook and writing down the new clue. "Hey, hold up a sec!" he said suddenly, looking around the room again. "What happened to Mr. Boddy's hat?"

The others realized immediately that the professor was right; a bright red cap like that would be hard to miss if it was still where it had been. "My, goodness, Prof. Plum, you're right! It seems he wasn't killed after all, and he left! He must've taken his hat with him; he always wore it."

"That's true," Bootler agreed, nodding. "It seems logical that if he was only knocked out and then regained consciousness, he would have stopped to pick up his cap first. But, then again... maybe someone took the hat with the body, to make it _look_ like he's alive."

"But why?" Tayce T. said. "Really, what would be the purpose of it?"

Gadd shrugged. "I don't know, but we shouldn't rule it out as a possibility, right?" He pulled out his notebook and jotted it down.

After that they looked around a little more and found a few feathers near the coffee table, a strand of brown hair on the sofa, and a coin on the floor beside the armchair closest the fireplace. Nothing of much significance, it seemed.

**Chapter Six- Part Two: Mustard and Peacock**

Kolorado and Miss Peacock mounted the bottom steps and climbed up, looking around as they did so. "Have you found anything yet?" Miss Peacock inquired half-way up the stairs.

Kolorado frowned slightly. "Now, see here, Peacock," he said. "We haven't even gotton anywhere yet."

She shrugged. "I know, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have found something yet. Clues won't isolate themselves in rooms for our convenience. We've got to check eveywhere!"

He huffed indignantly. "No need to tell me, Madame; I look for clues every day of my life. But if there was a clue on the stairs we would have seen it already."

"I suppose so," Miss Peacock said, nodding thoughtfully. "You know, I wonder who the killer is. It could be anyone; we all had a motive, after all."

"Too true, my dear," Kolorado agreed.

"And naturally we'll all act innocent because whoever did do it won't want to get caught."

"Naturally."

"For all I know, you're the killer, Col. Mustard."

"Yes, and for all I know, _you_ are, Miss Peacock."

They stopped dead and slowly turned to look at each other, uneasily. "But-but you're not, r-right?" Kolorado stammered.

"No, and n-neither are you... are you?" Miss Peacock replied with a nervous grin. He shook his head. Slowly they began climbing again, shooting wary glances towards each other the whole way until they reached the top. "So, uh, where do you want to go first?"

"Well, let's try that room there," he said, pointing to a room on the left. She nodded and they slowly approached the open doorway. The room beyond it was pitch dark. They stood in the hallway staring in, eyes wide. After a moment, he cleared his throat and said "Well, Peacock, what are you waiting for? Go on." He gave her a gentle push towards the door.

She halted just before stepping in. "N-no, no, why don't you go ahead first?"

"Because then you'd be behind me! Er, I- I mean, ladies first. I insist."

"No, no, _you_ first."

They looked at each other in frustration, neither moving. After a moment Kolorado said "Listen, why don't we just go in together?"

"Good idea," she agreed enthusiastically. They stepped towards the door shoulder to shoulder and began to walk through. Half-way in they got wedged in the door. "Oh, bugger!" she grumbled as they pushed to get through. After much grunting and pushing they finally squeezed through, stumbling together into the dark room. "Do you see a lightswitch?" Peacock whispered.

"No," Kolorado replied. "There must be one somewhere about, though... right?"

"Right."

They groped along the walls near the doorway but found none. As they were about to venture farther in, a brilliant streak of lightning flashed through the window on the other end of the room, briefly illuminating the room. It was the billiards room. Set up in the center was a large pool table, and a rack holding cues was hung on the wall nearby. A few chairs and card tables were also set up; one of these still had the cards and chips from a half-finished game of poker.

Kolorado looked at Peacock, eyes wide. "See anything?"

"Nope!"

"Oh well; let's go!"

**Chapter Six- Part Three: Scarlette and Green**

"All right, we can't split up, obviously. We're going to have to pick, one way or the other," Pauline said, glancing from Luigi to the rooms they'd pointed at and back to him again.

"Well, what do you suggest?" he asked.

She uncrossed her arms and held out her hand in a fist. "I suggest we do it the old fasioned way."

He raised an eyebrow. "You want to fight over which way we go?"

Pauline rolled her eyes in exasperation. "_No_, you idiot! Rock Paper Scissors."

"...Oh," he said sheepishly, holding out his own fist. "All right. One, two, three, shoot!"

She threw out a fist... and so did he.

The young woman looked up at him. "Best of three, I guess. One, two, three, shoot."

Two scissors.

"One, two three, shoot."

A pair of gloved hands, held out flat. Three ties in a row. Luigi sighed. "Well, now what?"

She frowned and looked over at the two rooms again- one that branched off to the left, the other to the right. Then she noticed a door in the middle, and her frown became a grin. "We meet in the middle. Look," she said, pointing. "That must be the cellar. And that's where we're going."

Luigi looked taken aback. "Th-the cellar? No, never mind. Let's just go your way." He started walking in the direction she'd origionally pointed to, but she reached out and grabbed him by the back of his over-alls, tugging him to a halt.

"Oh, no you don't," she said, dragging him towards the basement door. "Somebody's got to check the cellar, and that somebody's us." Letting go of him, Pauline turned the doorknob and swung the door open, revealing a concrete staircase descending into pitch darkness. Luigi whimpered quietly. "Well, Mr. Green, let's go," she said, sounding confident enough, but she didn't move, herself.

"I- I'm looking for a lightswitch," she explained after a minute.

"There isn't one," Luigi replied quickly. "I already looked."

"Oh. Well... we'll have to do without, won't we? Come on, quit stalling," she said, taking a step down the stairs. Luigi followed, not wanting to be left alone. He was fumbling in his pocket for something. After a moment he found what he'd been looking for; a small pocket-sized flashlight. He pulled it out and clicked it on, sending a narrow beam of light down into the blackness and lighting up a small circle of cement flooring at the bottom.

After a moment they reached the bottom of the stairs. The cellar was separated into three rooms (and possibly a fourth they couldn't see yet); the one they had stepped into, for one: boxes and other such things were piled untidily all over, caked with what looked like centuries' worth of dust. Two open doors led off of it. "You got another flashlight?" Pauline asked.

"I don't think so," Luigi replied.

She shrugged. "Whatever. It's really not so bad, now we're down here. Besides, there's probably a lightswitch around here somewhere. I'll take the left, and you take the right." Before he could protest to splitting up, she had stepped through the darkened doorway on the left.

He sighed, and shone the beam from his light into the righthand room. He stepped inside, squinting at two large white squares on one wall. At a closer look they proved to be a very old washer and drier set. Ironic, he thought; they were both extremely dirty.

Pauline groped along the wall until at last she found a lightswitch, and flipped it on. Over her head a bare lightbulb flickered to life, casting dull yellow light over the room. She couldn't stop herself grinning; it was a wine cellar. Along one wall was a rack full of old-looking bottles; on another wall a huge wooden cask sat alone. There didn't seem to be any Boddy here, though...

Slowly Luigi walked up to the washer, shining the light on it. It was covered with dust; nobody had touched it in quite a while. He turned from the washer/drier set and shone the light around the rest of the room. There was a counter on the other side, as well as a laundry basket festooned with dusty grey cobwebs. A moth-eaten shirt was crumpled in the bottom of it. On the wall near the counter was a lightswitch. Quickly he crossed the small laundry room to it and switched it on. The lightbulb overhead flickered for a moment, then sparked wildly, popped, and went black. He squeaked in surprise and alarm, dropping his flashlight- which also sputtered and went out.

* * *

Eh. Wasn't sure how to end it, so I hope this isn't too crappy. The next chapter will come much, much sooner than this one did, I promise : ) So... I guess that's really all I have to say. Bye! 


	7. A Knife in the Dark

Chapter... what am I on, Seven? Yeah, Seven. Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! I can't say it enough : ) and thanks for your advice, Menial- it's a great idea, but we don't have internet at my house XP We will soon though (hopefully!) and then I'll definitely do that : ) I hope you like this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Seven: AStab in the Dark**

At that exact moment, a lightning bolt struck the mansion, and every light in the house when out accompanied by a loud CRACKpop! sound. Miss Peacock and Tayce T. screamed, Kolorado and Luigi hollered, and Pauline swore loudly (she'd been in the middle of picking out a wine to sample). Their guest in the library screamed, then cursed, hollered to be let out, damnit, and then cursed some more. The only people seemingly undisturbed were Prof. Gadd, who had jumped at the CRACKpop but seemed excited about the darkness, and Bootler who, being a ghost, didn't mind even the darkest of dark.

"Shut up already!" Pauline shouted in ill temper through the small basement, groping for the dusty bottles as Luigi continued to shout. To her satisfaction she took his advice, and quieted.

Luigi dropped slowly to his hands and knees, searching blindly with his gloved hands for his dropped flashlight. He finally found and grabbed it, and began shaking and tapping it, trying to get it to light up again.

Prof. Gadd also had a flashlight, which he took from his pocket now and switched on. Tayce T. was by the door, which was aready half-open. "I'm going to search another room," she explained. "The power might not come back on for quite a while, and we haven't got much time.

"Good thinking. Let's go, then," Bootler said, materializing at her shoulder.

She jumped violently. "Oh, I wish you wouldn't do that," she sighed.

Kolorado and Peacock were already in seperate rooms. They had split up to cover more ground on the upstairs, and now in thedark they weren't sure wether they felt safer finding each other or staying alone.

"If he's the muderer and he goes unchecked," Peacock reasoned with herself as she stumbled around the large ballroom, tripping over chairs and almst running into the piano. "Then I'd rather not find him. But, then again-"

"If she's really _not_ the murderer," Kolorado was telling himself in the Hall (the room that wasn't a hall at all, you'll remember), "Then what if the real killer comes and overpowers me? Not that she'd be any real protection, of course, but-"

"In this darkness the killer might not see Peacock ad Mustard; just two shadows, and get intimidated and leave," Peacock said, her brow furrowing. "This is terribly confusing. I wish the lights would come back!"

The mushroom man had given up pounding and kicking the door, and had sat down with his back against it, glaring at his own large feet and muttering constant obsceneties. He'd been planning on smashing through the window and leaving to call the cops, storm or no storm, when the lightening hit and the power died. Now the only light was coming from the window acros the room from him, and since it was the middle of the night with no electric lights and no moon or starlight, it was pretty freaking dark. He whimpered quietly as a sense of foreboding crept over him. "Why'd I leave my car?"

Pauline had finally found what she'd been looking for by touch; the second to last bottle on the third shelf up, one that was caked with dust and had a date that was written on a yellowed label in faded numbers. She couldn't see any of this any more, of course, but who needed to see? She grinned as she lifted the bottle carefully from the rack, coughing as dust swirled into the air. After all, she reasoned, it's not like we can really search in this dark, right? Might as well pass the time.

Luigi had given up on trying to re-light the flashlight, and was wishing for the electricity to return when POW! In the silence, the sudden loud noise seemed deafening and sounded a lot like gunshot. Luigi hit the floor with a screech, this time all the way down on his stomach with his hands over his head.

She jumped violently, and the freshly opened bottle slid from her slick gloved grip and hit the floor with a smash. "_Damn_ it!" she exclaimed loudly. "You moron! Can you try to not scream for once? You ruined a perfectly good drink!" she shouted angrily.

He sat up, frowning. "How can you even think about drinking at a time like this?" he replied incredulously.

"I'm thirsty and I'm high-strung and I need a goddamn drink," she growled. "That's why."

Peacock had decided at last that it would be better to stay by herself. Col. Mustard admittedly didn't strike her as the killing type, but then, none of them did. The chances were one in six (she didn't count herself) that he was. Instead she decided to search the ballroom as best she could in the dark, squinting as her eyes adjusted and looking under chairs, behind curtains, and even inside the piano.

Kolorado sighed and made his way to the door of the Hall (which seemed to be pretty much a room for odds and ends, almost like an attic). He figured that Peacock probably wasn't the murderer; there was a five to one chance that it was somebody else, and she didn't seem like she'd have the guts to kill someone. There was always safety in numbers, so he tried to find her, bumping into a statue ("Excuse me," he muttered before remembering it was made of stone) on his way back into the hallway.

Satisfied there was no one in the ballroom, the young woman turned to leave. She took a step towards the door and then stopped, squinting. It looked like... there was a shadow of some kind framed in the doorway. Her breath caught when she realized it was a person standing there. She squeaked and took a step back, and to her horror the person came forward...

Kolorado squinted into the dark room, thinking that the person there was probably Peacock but not entirely sure. He took a step forward, and then... she shrieked. "SHHH!" he whispered urgently. "It's me!"

She blinked. "...Oh," she said sheepishly.

Downstairs, Gadd was in the kitchen, looking first in the large freezer and then in the oven, his heart skipping a beat when the door came open. He always expected Mr. Boddy to tumble out, but the late host was in neither appliance. "You'd better not be wrecking my kitchen," Tayce T's voice came suddenly from the adjoining dining room, making the elderly scientist jump. He adjusted his glasses, which had slipped down his round nose and got knocked cock-eyed and said impatiently "I'm not wrecking anything, Missus. I'm looking. Pipe down."

The cook put her hands on her hips and scowled at the kitchen door, but said nothing. Instead she walked around the large rectangular table, one hand trailing along the tops of the chair backs to guide her, and stopping every now and then to squint at something. She never found a Boddy or a killer, but she did find something very usefull; a box of matches. The mushroom woman pulled one out and struck it, producing a flame that seemed dazzling after the dark. Quickly she lit a candle from the table and then blew it ou, taking the candle instead.

Bootler was drifting around the study, examining the desk and small bookshelf carefully. He didn't need to squint or wait for his eyes to adjust; he could see just fine. He didn't find anything yet, but he was being very thorough and hadn't finished half the room yet. He peered at the desk and saw that the drawer had been opened- recently, by the looks of it. He leaned closer and saw that the document on top of the mess in the drawer was Mr. Boddy's will. "I thought he had it in an envelope," he muttered to himself. "Odd..."

The guest had adjusted to the darkness and stood up, resolving to get the hell out of this mad house. All he needed was something hard and heavy to through through the window. He thought a lot of these books would probably do the trick, he though, and groped his way towards the shelves, moving very slowly to avoid the armchairs and desks and lamps and tables that seemed to be all over the place.

In the lounge...

A dark figure crossed the now empty room, guided by the dim light from the last glowing embers in the fireplace. It crouched beside the large safe and, squinting at the tiny numbers, began to turn the dial of the combination lock until it was rewarded by a soft 'click'. The figure produced a shiny brass key, which glinted red in the glow of the dying fire as it was fitted into the lock and turned...

The guest had reached the bookshelf and was pulling them out one by one, searching for the biggest hardcover and throwing the unsatisfactory ones hap-hazardly over his shoulder. He'd just found a huge heavy one, probably four inches thick, and was pulling it off the shelf when he thought he heard the door snap quietly shut.

He spun around, eyes wide. "Hello?" he said nervously. "Is- is anyone there...?" No answer, but he thought he could hear somebody breathing in the corner, where perhaps he saw a person-shaped shadow... "C-can I leave now?" he asked. Still no reply. But the figure stepped closer. Suddenly lightening it up the room, and though the person was still in shadows, he got a clear view of the gleaming blade.

Panicked, the little man turned and bolted to the window, raising the book to throw. Unfortunately, the shadow was quicker.

"AAARRRGGGgggghhhh..."

* * *

-insert dramatic music here- The plot thickens! This chapter was very fun to write. And now, another murder! Bwahahaha! I think I'm going to throw in as many cameos as I can without getting stupid, and then kill them all off... Hey, if you've seen the movie you know that more stiffs make the story more interesting! XD so um... that's pretty much it. I can't wait to see what happens next... lol kidding, I dohave a good idea of what will happen next. 


End file.
